Splash Dams

Before the railroad arrived in 1912, the North Fork of the Payette River served as a route for logs bound for mills in Horseshoe Bend and Emmett. In 1903, $100,000 was spent to dynamite a clear channel in the river, and splash dams were built to store logs. During the winter of 1903-04, logs were held in a 36-acre pond, then in April they were blasted loose when the main dam was opened. Fewer than half of the logs reached the mills, and four men died during the log drive. Later, the dams were used to float railroad ties, and timber interests were instrumental in the founding of Smiths Ferry and Long Valley.

Idaho · United States